


An accidental discovery

by anonamor



Category: Suikoden
Genre: Between Suikoden V and Suikoden I, Gen, fun speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-27 23:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20054662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonamor/pseuds/anonamor
Summary: Lorelai has broken her whip and she's starting to run low on funds. The solution...is not one she expected.





	An accidental discovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).

“Can you fix this?” Lorelai asked as she handed the blacksmith her torn whip.

The whole trip to the nearby ruins had been a bust. When Lorelai had heard about the ruins from some drunk men in the pub in the last town, she had to check it out. Even though it wasn’t the Sindar ruins written down in Zweig’s notes, she couldn’t pass up any opportunity to find any secret Sindar ruins, especially after managing to get a decent head start over Killey. However, not only was the talk from the drunk men completely garbage, but she had ruined her whip in her escape from one of the traps within the ruins of…something not interesting to her.

The blacksmith looked over the torn whip, sighed, and shook her head. “It’s ruined beyond repair. You’ll need to get a new one.”

Lorelai frowned, but she supposed there was nothing she could do about the situation. She would have to eat the cost and hope while exploring the next place she could recoup some of her financial losses. “How much would that be?”

“I normally just sharpen weapons and tools, so you’ll have to find one yourself.” The blacksmith shrugged. “Right now I don’t have the materials to make one. Try the other shop.”

Lorelai left the blacksmith in disappointment. She couldn’t exactly attempt to explore another ruin without a weapon to protect herself with. Yes, normally she could run away from the monsters but sometimes there were a few persistent ones and she couldn’t just use magic willy-nilly. The only other “weapon” she had on her was a small knife meant for cutting fruit, not for fighting.

The general store/trade stop was the only other place to sell things, as this town wasn’t exactly the biggest place. Apparently 150 years ago or so, this place had much more business, but nowadays people lived simple lives of crafting, trading, and farming. When Lorelai inquired whether any weapons were for sale, the clerk just shook his head. “Sorry miss, we mostly have hoes, shovels, and kitchen knives. People here usually have no need for weapons.”

Disappointed once again, Lorelai made her way back to the inn. She could keep traveling north, generally heading to the Scarlet Moon Empire, and hope to find a larger town where she could buy a replacement whip. She liked using a whip because it was light and allowed her to hit from range. Or she could go back to the general store, buy a shovel, and hope it lasted long enough as a temporary weapon. Or she could go back south towards the coastal town she had last stayed in, though she didn’t recall there being even a blacksmith there…

Lorelai was about to speak to the innkeeper and book a room for the day when she noticed that her funds were running low again. Even if she found a weapon, she would need to make money again to afford it. Exploring ruins, even non-Sindar ones, usually could net her enough potch to keep her afloat, but that last one was really a bust.

“Want a job?” Lorelai looked behind her to find a man dressed in light armor and a red bandana. Despite his youthful face, Lorelai sensed that he was an experienced traveler, though he didn’t have the vibe of a Sindar hunter.

“What do you want?” Lorelai replied, curious about the sudden offer.

“There’s a wild beast tormenting some of the local farmers. If we defeat it, the farmers will pay us 3000 potch each.”

Wait, we? As in they would fight together? “That’s lovely, but I need a weapon.” Lorelai showed him her broken whip.

“Hmm…” The man pulled out a sword and a bow from his bag. “Are you good with any of these?”

Lorelai shook her head. She couldn’t claim much experience with either weapon. She supposed she could hack at it with a sword, but with a bow she could stay far away and at least not be a liability. The man seemed to understand and handed the bow to her.

“Feel free to keep it. It’s from a former…friend…” The way his voice trailed off, Lorelai knew it was better not to ask questions. Despite his casual demeanor, she had this feeling that she was not seeing all of what he held inside. Whether it was some tragic past or secret history, something like those people she met a few years ago in that Prince’s army, all that she really cared about was whether this man might know more about the Sindar.

The place they headed to was thankfully the opposite direction of those cursed ruins that broke her previous weapon. Here the grassy fields seemed endless and Lorelai wondered how a beast could hide here, until one appeared from behind a rock. It was grey and horned and immediately her companion started charging forward, drawing out his twin blades. Lorelai took the opportunity to line up a shot; just hitting the beast at any spot would be good for a first time. Something about the bow felt unexpectedly natural in her hand. She notched an arrow and a few seconds later it flew straight at the beast, piercing its side.

It howled and while distracted in pain, her companion slashed at it. Lorelai prepared another arrow, shot again, three more times before the beast final met its end. Once it was over, she approached her companion, who was now properly taking useable body parts from the fallen beast. He acknowledged her with a smile.

“Have you really not used a bow before?” he asked as he removed the horns of the fallen beast.

“Never,” Lorelai replied. She had surprised herself as well.

He laughed. “Well I’m sure he would be happy that…” He shook his head. “It’s unfortunate that this beast’s meat is so tough,” he continued, eager to switch topics. “While some of the locals might make something out of it, I really don’t like its taste. Seafood’s more my thing, you know.”

Lorelai nodded and helped take the remaining useful parts: the tail, some hide, some meat… She supposed any extra money gained from these materials couldn’t hurt, in case she fell into this situation again. On the way back she finally prodded her companion about Sindar. Or more like she asked him outright whether he had been to any Sindar ruins. All he did was frown, as if it wasn’t a term he had heard of before. He did seem to know ruins of a different type, suggesting that he had been in the Island Nations she had just passed through on her way north from Falena. Why he was up here was a mystery but before she could ask, they had returned to town, received their rewards, and settled for a shared meal. Lorelai just got the meat and vegetable stew while her companion splurged on some steamed crab.

While she had a forkful of food in her mouth, her companion took his share of the money and handed it to her. “Keep it. I don’t really need the money.”

Lorelai wanted to ask why, but he had stuffed his face with more crab. Instead, she set down her fork and accepted his second gift. “Thanks.”

The rest of dinner was quiet and soon her temporary companion excused himself, thanking her for her company but wanting to sleep early. By the next morning her companion for that one job was long gone. It was unfortunate, because she had thought about asking him about those ruins in the Island Nations, even if she didn’t plan to go there anytime soon. But with her only worthy information source in this town gone, it was time to continue northward, to her original intended destination.

Lorelai didn’t realize until much later that she could have saved some of that beast hide for a new whip, but by then she was completely used to her bow. While she might not have found anything out about the Sindar, she did find an unexpected aptitude for a new weapon. She supposed this accidental discovery made this whole little detour worth her time, maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> The companion who gives Lorelai the bow is a character from a different Suikoden game, but unnamed here to keep from spoiling in case fans who just played Suikoden V and Suikoden I are reading this.


End file.
